Virginia Baseball Names Karl Kuhn Assistant Coach

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July 30, 2003

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – University of Virginia head baseball coach Brian O’Connor has announced the addition of Karl Kuhn to the UVa baseball coaching staff. Kuhn, a 1992 graduate of the University of Florida, was named an assistant coach at Virginia and will serve as O’Connor’s pitching coach. Kuhn is the first assistant coach to be hired at UVa under O’Connor, who was recently named the head baseball coach at Virginia on July 9th.

“Karl is an outstanding addition to the UVa baseball program. He provides our program with a great deal of experience in the area of recruiting and pitching,” said O’Connor. “Karl has a passion for coaching and he will bring a tremendous amount of enthusiasm to our program. Karl’s ability as a recruiter and evaluator of talent will be an asset for our program. He is a tireless worker who will help attract the top talent to UVa.”

Kuhn comes to Virginia with a wealth of baseball experience as both a coach and as a player. He arrived in Charlottesville after serving as the pitching coach at the University of Arkansas – Little Rock (UALR) for seven years (1997-2003). Kuhn was also current UALR head baseball coach Brian Rhees’ first hire when he took over the Trojan baseball program in 1997. At UALR, Kuhn managed all aspects of the Trojans pitching staff and was also the recruiting coordinator for the program.

Kuhn recruited 52 players at UALR who set individual school records and 11 team records, including the most wins in school history. He recruited the first All-American in school history and had 13 players sign professional contracts. UALR had a school record five consecutive recruiting classes ranked nationally by Collegiate Baseball during his tenure with the Trojans.

“Karl has proven the ability to develop pitchers to win in college baseball while preparing a pitcher to succeed in professional baseball,” said O’Connor. “He will get he most out of our pitching staff in every game we play. I am excited for Karl to work with our pitchers because I know our players will enjoy his style of coaching, knowledge of pitching and ability to communicate.”

Last season(2003), Kuhn helped guide the Trojans to their second 30-win season in the last four years after posting a record of 30-26 overall, 9-14 in the Sun Belt Conference. His pitching staff ended the season with a team ERA of 4.76 which included three pitchers who recorded an ERA under 3.50. UALR also had five separate pitchers throw a combined six complete games and the Trojans’ pitching staff held their opponents to a .288 batting average for the season. Kuhn’s pitching staff provided one of the biggest highlights of the 2003 season as four UALR pitchers combined on the second no-hitter in school history in a 14-0 win over Central Baptist on March 19th.

“Karl did an outstanding job here at UALR, the program would not be where we are today without his hard work,” said Rhees. “I wish him the best of luck and know he will do a great job at the University of Virginia.”

Before coaching at UALR, Kuhn spent three years as the pitching coach at Charleston Southern University. Under his leadership, the pitching staff led CSU to its first baseball conference championship in school history. The staff finished with a 4.53 ERA, which was second in the conference, and led the conference in strikeouts per game and fewest walks per game. Kuhn also worked at Valencia Community College in Orlando, Fla. Prior to that, he was pitching coach for two years at Buchholz High School in Gainesville, Fla.

Kuhn played four years of collegiate baseball. He started his college career at Valencia Community College where he played from 1987-1989 before he played one season for the Florida Gators in 1990.

The Kuhn File

BORN: January 16, 1969.

HIGH SCHOOL: Buchholz High School, Gainesville, Florida, 1987.

COLLEGE: University of Florida, 1992.

PLAYING CAREER: Valencia Community College, 1987-89; University of Florida, 1990.

COACHING CAREER: Assistant Coach, Buchholz High School;Assistant Coach, Valencia Community College;Assistant Coach, Charleston Southern University;Head Coach, Winchester Royals (Virginia Valley League);Assistant Coach, University of Arkansas-Little Rock;Associate Head Coach, University of Arkansas-Little Rock;Assistant Coach, the University of Virginia.

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